


we know this ain't all talk

by collieflower



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bad Matchmaking, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gratuitous Jokes About, Implied Sexual Content, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, Love Confessions, M/M, Matchmaking, Schmoop, Sugar Daddy Kozume Kenma, WELL--, YouTuber Kozume Kenma, changed my mind they're MEGA in love, ew they're kinda in love, kuroo makes a smoothie bowl don't ask me why, oop uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:14:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collieflower/pseuds/collieflower
Summary: It hadn’t occurred to him that they would end up dating. If he thought about it for just a second too long, he probably could have seen it coming. But he didn’t. He had other things. And thebesties becoming besties, bestie triangle finally completedsatisfied him so much that he honestly didn’t think it would go any farther. But he really should have thought about it, because they were anything but subtle.The one where Bokuto and Kenma date without realizing it. Kuroo is a completely unbiased third party who simply assumed that they had their shit together.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Kozume Kenma
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92
Collections: One shots, stories that touched me





	we know this ain't all talk

**Author's Note:**

> i'm doing nano and i'm supposed to be working on this Big Bad bokurodai fic but like . bokuken has me tenderly by the hand so i say "yes dear" and let them do what they want w me idk idc
> 
> also stubbornness is ignoring your earbuds screaming as they die bc you're on a roll and don't wanna lose your steam.
> 
> they died like half an hour ago :)

To Kenma, it started the third time they hooked up. Sleepy and sated, Bokuto was in no rush to leave Kenma’s house. So he stayed. They curled up in Kenma’s bed and streamed some shitty mystery television series that Kenma couldn’t keep up with. Bokuto made a hot cup of tea that Kenma drank more of than him, and they fell asleep tangled up in each other. It was the first time that Kenma seriously considered turning this  _ something _ that he had with Bokuto into something more.

They hadn’t talked about it, but Kenma knew that Bokuto cared for him. He hoped that Bokuto knew that care and affection ran both ways. They’d probably talk about it soon. Probably.

Bokuto had always been quick to fall. It didn’t matter who it was for. Sometimes it was when a friend smiled at him just a moment too long. Maybe it was in the cafe’s barista remembering his coffee order after the second week, or even just a moment when a stranger’s eyes connected with his, he was  _ gone _ for the next week. But no matter the fall, his wings caught a breeze, and he was soaring again all too soon.

But with Kenma… It was like the air cushioned around him, billowing and carrying him farther than he could have ever expected. It was a fall, over and over, he tripped after Kenma. And he flew. He couldn’t pinpoint the moment he knew his feelings for Kenma were  _ big _ . He could sorta guesstimate the timeframe when he thought that Kenma might’ve felt something like him.

He could remember the first sober kiss he shared with Kenma. How bright Kenma’s eyes were, and the ruddy blush that stained his cheeks like watercolor. The little smile Kenma gave him before leaning back in to steal another kiss had Bokuto’s chest lurching with the ache and the realization of  _ oh,  _ they may have something good, sure, but they really could be  _ good _ together. 

Kenma just might love him too.

-

Now if anybody was gonna ask Kuroo, he had a totally different story. He’s what they call that third point of view. Outsider perspective with an edge he got from being  _ invested. _

Kuroo had his suspicions in college. Yeah, take that one in. College. They were 21 years old, and Kenma was off doing god knows what successful people do, marketing himself on the internet and playing the stock markets. Kuroo and Bokuto were struggling through their final year, rooming together to save rent and seeing each other through incredibly tight schedules.

Still, they always had time for each other, and because Kuroo and Kenma were a packaged deal, they always had time for Kenma.

Not that Kenma had a massive chunk of time to offer them. Most of their hangouts centered around Kuroo dragging Kenma to one of Bokuto’s volleyball games, or Kuroo and Bokuto loading up their homework assignments and an impressive amount of takeout and taking it all to Kenma’s to bother him for the night.

Somewhere along the way, Bokuto and Kenma started hanging out. One on one, all focused on each other and that jazz. Personally, Kuroo was thrilled. Just like he and Kenma were a packaged set, it was becoming more and more evident that it was the same case with him and Bokuto. Strapped together at the hip, stapled at the shoulder. Never to be separated under punishment of fine and legal retribution. He just thought it would be really fucking neat if that happened with Kenma and Bokuto, too.

Kenma didn’t let too many people get super close to him. Yeah, he had his friends, and people he liked to spend time with outside of Kuroo, but no one got as close to him as Kuroo and the little sunspot Hinata had. His best friends becoming best friends sounded like the best scenario possible. 

It hadn’t occurred to him that they would end up dating. If he thought about it for just a second too long, he probably could have seen it coming. But he didn’t. He had other things. And the  _ besties becoming besties, bestie triangle finally completed  _ satisfied him so much that he honestly didn’t think it would go any farther.

But he really should have thought about it, because they were anything but subtle.

Kenma started inviting Bokuto along on his own, asking what kind of drinks Bokuto liked that he should keep in his fridge for when Bokuto cropped up without much warning. Bokuto was big on PDA, the hugs from behind, nuzzling the side of people’s heads, super casual and loose affection. That wasn’t uncommon. If anything it was expected by this point. Nah, the strange thing was that Kenma accepted it. With minimal complaint, he would lean into Bokuto. He would wind his fingers into Bokuto’s jacket when they stood next to each other, or let his shoulder brush against Bokuto’s arm.

The first time Kuroo saw it, he almost reached over to check Kenma’s temperature. 

The umpteenth time, he just guessed it was just the new normal.

When he found out they were sleeping together, he accepted it. Thought,  _ yeah, that sounded about right.  _ He encouraged it and gave Kenma an over dramatic ceremonial giving of the blessings for him to see Bokuto that made Kenma threaten to cut all communication between them. He said Kuroo was just too fucking  _ embarrassing _ to keep around.

Was it so wrong to link that to the assumption that they were dating? Maybe others would call it making an ass out of you and me, but Kuroo called it a logical leap leading from a natural progression. See, it just made sense. When something funny happened, Bokuto’s first reaction was to text Kenma about it. The days of him spamming the group chat were gone – okay, not gone. But limited.  _ Limited,  _ because he was texting  _ Kenma,  _ now.

Kenma didn’t even answer Kuroo’s texts like that. There were some drawbacks to his elation of his side-pieces becoming each others’ exclusive side-pieces, but he could deal. From what Kuroo had gathered, from shy admissions he’d collected from them both privately, of how much they liked each other, it was worth it. They were  _ goopy- _ happy, and, in Kuroo’s professional opinion, on their way to falling in love or something. Good for them, seriously. To say that he was happy for them didn’t even begin to cover it, honestly. He was proud of them. Which was probably weird, to be proud of someone else’s relationship, but once again: Kuroo was  _ invested. _

He just didn’t understand how shy they were with their relationship. Almost coy. Like they were still in the honeymoon stage where they kept to themselves because it felt more  _ special.  _ Maybe that was the secret to keeping the magic alive. Kuroo wasn’t sure, exactly, how long they’d been together, but it had been long enough that they’d learned to communicate. And god knew that they were hopelessly into each other.

They’d grow out of it, he was sure of it. Soon, probably.

-

Bokuto scrolled through his phone, opening a snap from Atsumu as Kuroo finished paying his half of the lunch bill. Kuroo clapped his hands, rubbing them in preparation to step out into the snowy weather, and Bokuto met him with a grin. Kuroo batted him away with a palm to his nose.

“You know, Bo,” he drawled, plucking at Bokuto’s collar and smoothing the rumples out of his jacket. Bokuto let him with all the patience of an excitable elementary schooler. “If you’re going to use your sugar daddy’s card, you might as well pay for both of our meals. Sharing the wealth and blessings always incites a return.”

Bokuto laughed, his head pitching back. “Lunch paid for by a sponsor.” He waved the little card between them with a glint in his eye before stuffing it back in his wallet.

Kuroo didn’t look very impressed with him. His stare was flat, and his smile was sharp and catlike. “Sponsors don’t usually pay for lunches they’re not a part of.”

Bokuto rolled a shoulder without a care in the world. “He’s a generous sponsor.”

With a scoffed laugh Kuroo threw his arm over Bokuto’s shoulders and led him out of the restaurant. “You can just say that you’re a sugar baby, Bokuto, I won’t think less of you. At least I know he’s a catch.”

“I’m  _ not!” _

Kuroo nodded, humming. “Kept wife, then.”

“Thank you.” Bokuto shook his head, ramming his shoulder into Kuroo. “Try and devalue me as an upstanding member of society. See if I pay for your lunches again.”

_ “Don’t even try it, we  _ **_just_ ** _ established that it was on your Daddy’s dime.”  _ Kuroo knocked his head into Bokuto’s, ignoring the pained exclamation. He steered them away from a patch of ice on the sidewalk.

“He likes to spoil me,” Bokuto said dreamily. “You’re just jealous.”

Laughing, he relinquished Bokuto to the cold. The man gave a petulant whine, rubbing his palms up and down his arms. “You  _ bet _ I am. Kenma and I were supposed to settle down with three kids and a small tea company, you could have asked anybody.” He shook his head, hand pressed to his heart in sorrow. “And now he’s in love with you. Maybe I could challenge you to a duel.”

Bokuto took in a breath so quick he must have sucked up some snow or something, because he coughed and hacked, bending at the waist to work through it. He popped back up in no time, his cheeks ruddy red, and eyes watery and full.

Kuroo slapped his back, laughing as he stumbled a few more steps. “Kidding, Bo,” he assured him. “I would never challenge you. Just steal Kenma away in the night. It’s easy, really.”

He bumped his shoulder against Kuroo’s, a thoughtful frown set into his brow. “Do you really think so?”

“Yeah. I would lure him away with one of those deep fried apple pies he likes.”

_ “No. Tetsu.” _ He stopped walking, shoving his hands deep in his pockets to try and hide their fidgeting from Kuroo’s sharp eyes. It didn’t work. It never worked. Those stupid eyes took in every piece of information around him like it was the first meal in days to a starving dog. Kuroo stared at him, waiting to go on. An inkling of seriousness bleeding into his eyes, bright and malleable like heated steel. His breath puffed up in a cloud before him, fogging up his glasses for just a second before they cleared.

Bokuto cleared his throat. He scuffed his shoe against the curb, yelping when he almost slipped back on the thin patch of ice he was standing in. It was amazing to see someone with so much power and control over his body in the court stumble around like a newborn fawn. He adjusted his feet and met Kuroo’s laughing gaze once more. “Do you really think he loves me?”

Blinking, he looked more like a confused toddler than a curious cat. He frowned, and oops, Bokuto had assumed too far. It was just some stupid turn of phrase or something, Kenma liked him, sure. And he liked being  _ with _ Bokuto, but love? Come on, Kou, get a grip.

“Bo,” Kuroo called, reaching to squeeze his shoulder. “You think he doesn’t?” There was an edge to his voice that Bokuto didn’t completely know what to do with.

“Well – He’s.”

Kuroo seemed to catch the notion, because he finished his sentence for him. “Kenma.”

“Yeah, Kenma,” he repeated with a tight sigh.

“Listen.” Kuroo slung an arm over his shoulders and started them back up again. Bokuto sniffled. The cold was threatening to make his nose run. “Between us all, while Kenma has the most expressive face, he isn’t so free with his flowery prose and affections. But you can trust me. I’ve never seen Kenma like he is with you.”

“Yeah? Serious?”

“It’s almost painful to be in the same room as him,” Kuroo told him, shaking his head sorrowfully. “Bokuto this, Bokuto that, Koutarou the third. You’ve overshadowed me. I am in the dark. Say, thought you were supposed to be a star, why are you making my life dark?  _ Oh–!” _

His mouth shut tight as Bokuto shot up to kiss him, wet and obnoxious on the cheek.

“I’m gonna head back!” he yelled over his shoulder as he tripped away. He turned and ran backwards, cupping his hands over his mouth. “Thanks, Kuroo! Call me and we can get together for a morning run. Kenma’s buying breakfast after!”

_ “Tell Kenma I said the greens in his fridge will rot if he doesn’t eat them soon!” _

Bokuto gave him a thumbs up and twirled around – only to land flat on his ass in the snow.

-

If Bokuto was honest, there wasn’t a lot that changed after that. There was a little feeling, expanding and clenching in his chest like a second heartbeat, one that made him feel all warm and tingly inside. Just the knowledge that Kenma loved –  _ loved _ – him back had him grinning from the crown of his head all the way down to his knees. 

The intensity of this weird second heartbeat, cardiovascular anomaly that he should probably get checked out, varied from day to day. Sometimes it was a flutter when Kenma looked at him in a certain way, or when his kisses were particularly sweet. Sometimes it was a plain old  _ thought _ that kicked it off.

If this Kuroo-spurred revelation did anything, really, it made Bokuto appreciate Kenma more. The need to be near him, to smother him in kisses was hard to ignore. It was especially now with those three little words constantly sitting at the tip of his mind, just begging to be let out of his mouth.

Soon, probably. He’d tell him soon.

-

Bokuto had been weird recently. Nothing like he was on the slow recovery from one of those tricky moods. He usually tried to cure those with exhaustingly long runs and wedging himself between Kenma and the headboard. Acting like a human body pillow meant he could soak up whatever energy and happiness he could from Kenma, like an inductive charger. Or a sponge.

Kenma didn’t mind. Everything he soaked up, Bokuto gave back in tenfold. As soon as he was able, he was all  _ big presences _ and adoration that had Kenma’s insides crumpling like candy floss in a rainstorm.

This weirdness was more an example of Bokuto on the upswing. He was all energy, bouncing around like he was when he got into the rhythm of the court. Kenma wasn’t exactly sure what changed. When he asked about it, roundabout while he watched Bokuto make dinner, Bokuto went all sheepish and diverted the conversation as quickly as it came. That was cute, and it made Kenma nearly froth at the mouth with stupid affection.

It didn’t answer any of his questions, though.

By the fifth time Bokuto cuddled up to him unprompted, when Kenma was doing little more than  _ breathe,  _ Kenma was concerned. He rolled his shoulder, doing little to dislodge the chin there. “What’s with you?” he asked. The glass under the tap nearly overflowed by the time Kenma remembered to turn it off. He was doing something as tiny as getting a glass of water, and all of the sudden he had a Bokuto backpack stuck to him. “Are you sick?”

“No, I feel fine!” For as loud as he was, he had the cheer to match. He smacked a kiss under Kenma’s ear, his arms hugging around Kenma’s waist. Kenma sipped his water. “Just like you a lot ‘s all.”

That sip of water? Kenma choked on it.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know that. He did. That didn’t mean hearing out loud like that all of the sudden wasn’t shocking.

Bokuto’s cry was indignant when Kenma flicked water in his face. This only served to make him bury himself farther into the crook of Kenma’s neck. “So  _ mean, Kenma!”  _

“You  _ like me,”  _ Kenma retorted.

Bokuto moaned. Whatever he said was lost in the fold of Kenma’s hoodie, and that was the end of it.

Sorta.

-

Kuroo ran the blender like it gave him personal joy. He was halfway into a smoothie made with groceries he’d brought over himself. Something about how Kenma’s blender was better because he rarely used it… or something. Sounded like bullshit to Kenma, but he really did let his blender collect dust, so he wasn’t the one to ask about the inner workings of such a machine.

It was only after Kuroo had finished and dumped his smoothie into a bowl that Kenma took out his airpods to speak to him. “You can’t stay, I’ve got a stream in half an hour.”

Kuroo made a nasally noise and his face scrunched into something akin to  _ holy disappointment.  _ “What? You don’t trust me in your house?”

“You make too much noise.”

_ “When?”  _ He smirked, like his  _ can you substantiate that claim  _ tactic was a slam dunk in his favor. Kenma blinked at him, and then looked at the smoothie in his hands. Kuroo just clicked his tongue. “Well, you’re not streaming now, are you?” He settled his weird greenish purple smoothie on the breakfast bar so he could cut up a banana, which he lined around the rim of the bowl. Kenma watched as it progressed to blueberries, and then one single ruffle of kale, and a smattering of Kenma’s favorite granola.

“Do you do this every time?” he asked, leaning his cheek against his palm.

Kuroo looked up at him from over the rims of his glasses. “You kidding me? I don’t even take it out of the blender at home.” He adjusted the bowl, twisting it as he looked on from above. He looked like a cat on the prowl, with his shoulders all bunched up. Kenma wanted to toss a ball just to see if his ears would prick up. “It’s all about the backdrop.” He swiped a granola crumb from the marble countertop, and Kenma narrowed his eyes at him.

It was wildly ineffective. Kuroo still whipped out his phone, trying to get the best frame for his… work of art.

“You talk a lot about Bokuto being my sugar baby for someone who only comes over for my counters and blender.”

Kuroo laughed, “Don’t be mistaken, Kenma. I,” he paused, putting his hand over his heart like a saint trapped in a stained glass window, “am a gold digger.” He made a noise and disappeared down the hallway for a moment before coming back to deposit a light jacket in Kenma’s arms. “This is Bokuto’s. I found it in my apartment.”

Kenma started at the windbreaker in his hands, brow furrowed. “Why am I holding it?”

Kuroo leveled him with a serious look from across Kenma’s breakfast bar. 

“You’re going to see him before I do.” Kuroo continued to hold his eyes as he slurped up his smoothie disgustingly loud. He smacked his mouth, and then fluttered his eyelashes at Kenma.

“Did you take up fortune telling or something? How do you know when I see Bokuto?”

He was supposed to see him tomorrow, actually. They were getting dinner after Bokuto’s practice, and Kenma was fully planning on spending the night at Bokuto’s afterward. They did that kind of thing a lot.

So much Bokuto started jokingly referring to them as  _ date nights.  _

Kenma was in way over his head with Koutarou.

“You’re together all the time.” Kuroo said it like it was obvious. Like Kenma should know. Like Kenma wouldn’t kick Kuroo out of his house if he kept being cryptic and weird.

“So are you.” Kenma crossed his arms, the jacket a wedge between him and Kuroo. “Why don’t you just wait until he comes and gets it?”

He pushed the smoothie around the bowl — what a stupid thing to do, Kenma thought. Cold liquids just shouldn’t be consumed from  _ bowls.  _ “Maybe I just thought you would appreciate the boyfriend jacket.” His smile was knowing for all of two seconds before sharpening at the edges. “That’s practically your wardrobe already.”

That was it.

“You have to go, I need to get ready.”

“Right,” Kuroo laughed, “can’t have your viewers thinking that you’re dating the wrong friend. How foolish of me. That would invite nothing but scandal.” Before Kenma could get a word in edgewise, Kuroo was finishing his fucking smoothie and washing out the bowl. He set it in the drainer and patted his hands, dry, looking around. “Alright, I’m off!” he announced, like it was his own whim he was following. “Make sure to give Bo his jacket, or I’ll never hear the end of it. Or don’t, I’m sure he’d be fine if you kept it.” With a salacious grin, he hung the hand towel back in its place and hurried down the hall.

Kenma looked at the pillar that separated the kitchen from the living room, and seriously considered smacking his head against it, banging until something rattled.

_ Dating the wrong friend _ . They weren’t dating, he and Bo. They were…

Well, they were mutually exclusive… uh. Best friends? That one didn’t work very well. Tetsu was Kenma’s best friend. Shouyo was another one.

The thought of kissing one of them made Kenma blanch and draw into himself like a disgruntled turtle. The concept of going farther, being touched by heavy hands and hefted against walls, kissed within an inch of his life—

He couldn’t pin that one down, because as soon as his mind drifted that way, the image of Shouyo’s hands became larger, warmer, skilled in playing Kenma’s body in a way no other has accomplished. Kuroo’s sharp grin and calculating eyes morphed into something every bit as  _ challenging _ , but leagues more reverent. Warm golden eyes, words that loop in Kenma’s head for days afterwards.

Bokuto was one of his best friends, yes. Could his other friends fit the distinct Bokuto-shaped hole carved into his life. Into his apartment, into his bed?

He glared at the bag of kale Kuroo left out on the counter by his fridge. He tightened his arms around Bokuto’s jacket.

The  _ boyfriend jacket,  _ Kuroo said. The thought didn’t bother him near as much as he thought it would. Maybe Kuroo was more on the mark than Kenma thought.

He would never tell him that, though. He pulled the jacket on and huffed, his cheeks puffing out as he trailed down the hall to his streaming room.

If Kenma was a little distracted during his stream, well. Everybody has off days.

-

The stumble home from some social event was much less a  _ stumble,  _ and more of a  _ Kenma called a ride home for them, the biggest roadblock they encountered was the tip of Bokuto's shiny new dress shoe snagging on the curb.  _ Bokuto took the keys from him. He would have used his own, but Kenma's were already out, and he didn't wanna waste any time he didn't have to, because he was already fitting the lock in the key with minimal trouble — wait, that was the wrong order.

It didn't matter much, because Kenma was already pushing him inside and twisting the lock behind them.

"You looked so good tonight," Kenma praised, pulling Bokuto down the hall with fingers hooked into his belt.

"Yeah?" Bokuto grinned, preening like a bird under Kenma's words. "So did you. I like your hair like this." His fingers pinched the tail of one of the braids crowning Kenma's head. "'S so pretty." One big hand held Kenma's lower back, pulling him into Bokuto's body, urging him  _ up _ so Bokuto could suck a kiss under his jaw in that spot he liked.

"Proud of you. You did really good tonight. We even stayed the whole time."

Kenma couldn't tell if it was the embarrassment or the praise that made him melt. He was sure that if either or them had taken the time to turn the lights on, Bokuto could see the messy flush high on his cheeks. It seeped into his skin like ink, a none-too subtle show of how  _ gone _ he was on this man. 

"It's not that impressive," Kenma muttered. He wrapped his arms around Koutarou's neck before prodding him to stand up straight. He must have grasped the memo, because he grabbed Kenma's thighs and hefted him up, up,  _ up,  _ so Kenma could wrap his legs around his waist. His ankles crossed behind the small of Bokuto's back, and it was his turn to kiss Koutarou's neck.

Kenma could only assume that getting to the stairs was distracting work, judging by how Bokuto paused their journey to press Kenma up against the wall. One large hand was splayed at his lower back, pulling him as close as possible to Bokuto as the tilt of his hips kept Kenma snug against the wall. There was a photo frame just to the right of his head that rattled when Bokuto thumped his forearm into the wall. He caged Kenma in so completely, so wonderfully, and Kenma didn't give a single fuck if that picture frame fell and shattered. Not if it meant keeping Bokuto here, keeping his hands on Kenma's body and his lips to his throat.

So maybe not  _ here,  _ specifically.

He tugged at the knot in Bokuto's tie, blindly trying to loosen the knot. He must have jerked the wrong way, because Bokuto pulled away. His hand gathered Kenma's wrists in one hand and pulled him away. Kenma's shoulders thudded back against the wall, pressing his weight between it and Bokuto's hips.

"It's like you're trying to kill me. See what happens to you if I pass out!" There was laughter coloring his words and a teasing grin spreading across his face. "On the floor, a dead body to— Uh, to— Babe, I can't get this." He tugged twice at the knot, which only served to tighten it and inch him back towards Kenma.

"Oh how terrible," Kenma deadpanned. "Looks like you're going to have to leave it on. Or I have sheers, I can cut it off."

The face that came across Bokuto was wide and horrified. He could just see the troublesome glare in his eyes in the lowlight of the hallway. "Kozu! Do you know how expensive this tie was?" He smoothed the silk back down his chest. At this point, Kenma wouldn't be surprised if he righted the whole thing just to go back out into the world to show it off some more.

Kenma rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue. He shook Bokuto's hands off his wrists so he could take the tie in his hands again. Now that he could see what he was doing, it was easy to pull it free. He had plenty of practice, pulling Kuroo's neck from the noose after passing out from a long night of after work drinking and buffoonery.

"Of course I know." He pulled the silk from Bokuto's collar and let that drop, too. He threaded his fingers into Bokuto's hair, pulling every once in a while. "I bought it."

His tone dipped just as he pulled Bokuto in again. Bokuto, who huffed a laugh into the skin of Kenma's throat. “This is why Kuroo calls me your sugar baby.”

Kenma scoffed. “You’re obviously not.”

Bokuto’s eyebrows shift up, quirking just so to project that special air of a challenge. “Oh yeah? Wonder who bought this suit.”

“A generous sponsor.”

Bokuto hummed. “End up like this with all your patrons?” He rolled his hips up just in time for his hands to grab Kenma back into him. A coordinated attack from an underhanded strategy.

Kenma would be proud if he didn’t know the extent of Bokuto’s strategic capabilities.

Pushing off from the wall only threw his body into Bokuto’s chest. Bokuto was left to scrabble for balance before he sent them ass-first to the hardwood floors.

Kenma’s tongue in his mouth probably wasn’t helping matters, but Bokuto was a smart man. He’d figure it out.

“If I was your sugar daddy, we’d be a lot closer to fucking by now.”

Bokuto’s laugh was too big for the dark of the living room, but that was Bokuto. He filled up every crack and crevice with his laughter and his smiles that make Kenma feel like he ordered his rib cage two sizes too small.

Bokuto tucked his nose into Kenma’s neck, stifling his giggles into his stuffy dress shirt. He let Kenma drop to the ground. “Show the way up then,  _ Daddy,”  _ he teased.

Kenma’s nose wrinkled and he made a throaty noise. “Ew. Oh my god, shut up.”

He grabbed his hand, and up the stairs they went.

-

Afterwards, Kenma didn't wait for his breathing to even out. He sat up and folded his legs under himself, his knees just brushing Bokuto's thighs. Bokuto's hand skimmed up and down the knobs of his spine, the calluses of his fingers dragged goosebumps across his sweaty skin.

Plucking the braids from his hair was quick work. Bokuto made a mournful sound at the growing pile of bobby pins, and Kenma shot him a look over his shoulder. "It was already a mess."

Bokuto nodded happily. His fingers tapped, now. The first two drew some kind of swirl into his shoulder blade. The allure of those fingers pulled Kenma in, trying to coax him back into Koutarou's arms.

He held out just long enough to finish shaking out his hair. It fell down past his shoulders, brushing Bokuto's hand. Kenma turned on his knees until he could toss a leg over Bokuto.

He settled, high and proud, on Bokuto's chest. Bokuto's hands instantly came to rub down Kenma's thighs and follow through right back up in an easy slow rhythm. "It's only okay if you do it, then, huh?"

The blush that flooded Bokuto's face was captivating. "Well—I didn't  _ mean to."  _ He swished his mouth to the side, letting Kenma pinpoint the exact moment the determination snapped back into his bones. "I can learn how to do it! It can't be that hard, right? It's just  _ hair.  _ I play with your hair all the time!"

Kenma laughed. He held Bokuto's face in his hands, savoring the way Bokuto leaned into the touch. His hair fell from his shoulders, curtaining them off from the rest of the world. "We can look up a video later.”

Bokuto's thumbs rubbed soft circles into his hips, his breathing a steady, sure rhythm drawing Kenma into a lull. If Kenma leaned down to kiss him, Bokuto would greet him with his all. With arms open wide, ready for anything Kenma could possibly throw at him.

He reached to tuck a lock of hair behind Kenma's ear. His fingers drifted, palm fitting along his jaw as his thumb rested against Kenma's bottom lip. Kenma's ribs constricted so tight against his heart that thought that he might die. 

Love.

Kenma was wholeheartedly, completely in love with him.

He was dipping down to meet Bokuto halfway before he really even realized the other man had begun to gently pull him in. Bokuto kissed him with everything he had, his hand drifting up Kenma's stomach, up his chest, all the way until he could bury itself in Kenma's hair. Nothing like before, just a reassuring pressure soothing as he combed his fingers gently through his hair.

"I love you."

Kenma's eyes fluttered open to find Bokuto already staring at him. He didn't get much time to gauge his reaction before the world was spinning and he hit the mattress with a surprised yelp.

He didn't get much time after that, because his breath was busy getting stolen in other ways. Bokuto seemed to make it his personal mission to make sure that he didn't make it out of this. Between the sweet, deep kisses, and the  _ I love yous  _ stamped between them, Kenma never stood a chance.

-

"Hey, hold on."

It was later, freshly showered and tucked into clean bedsheets and the weighted comforter Bokuto liked, that Bokuto's head flung up from the pillows. His eyes were as wild as his hair. If Kenma squinted, his bed head almost made him look like Kuroo. If it wasn't for the manic look in his eyes, he would have reached for his phone to take a picture.

He settled for a dry stare in Bokuto's general direction. "What?"

Bokuto stared at him, like he was already half asleep before whatever thought he was chasing occurred to him. "Are we boyfriends?"

Oh.

"Oh," Kenma murmured aloud. "Yeah? I guess."

Bokuto grinned sleepily at him and settled back into the blankets. "Nice."

Kenma really wished he was mistaken, but he was pretty sure he saw Bokuto fist bump himself before finally drifting off to sleep.

-

It was exactly four and a half days before Bokuto asked if they could tell their friends their news.

Kenma gave his blessing over the top of his Switch, and that’s all Bokuto needed. The photo he sent to the groupchat wasn’t new by any means, but it was one of his favorites. Kenma looked so cute with his hair tied up and lookin’ all rumpled in one of Bokuto’s Black Jackals hoodies. Bokuto’s chin was hooked over his shoulder blowing a raspberry into Kenma’s cheek while Kenma looked like a water-dunked cat. If anything screamed boyfriends, it was this photo.

Which is also why it was his lockscreen. And his homescreen. If Kenma would let him, he would make it his profile pictures on all his social media apps.

He could finagle him into it eventually. He had that boyfriend  _ sway _ , after all. Kenma was practically powerless against it — at least until he said so to Kenma, and Kenma threatened to kick him out of bed. Bokuto guessed that his boyfriend had some sway of his own.

Bokuto grinned down at his phone as he sent the photo to their friends, slam dunking it in their group chats for good measure.

brokuto koutabro: guess what life changing life developments have happened >:))

shoYO NO: YOU GUYS TIED THE KNOT >:O

kurotetsuBro: You didn’t

kurotetsuBro: You did NOT elope

brokuto koutabro: what?? no we’re dating mow

shoYO NO: wait hang on were you guys on a break ?

kenemy of the state: ?

kenemy of the state: no, we’re in a relationship.

brokuto koutabro: YEAH WE STARTED DATING >:O

kurotetsuBro: Wait, wait, wait

kurotetsuBro: NOW HOLD ON.

**Author's Note:**

> the original revelation/realization was supposed to go like this:
>
>> Kenma @ Kuroo: Did you know that I’m dating Bokuto?
>> 
>> Kuroo: Yeah, of course.
>> 
>> Kenma: Oh.
>> 
>> Kuroo: Why? Did you not?
>> 
>> He laughs. Kenma is very quiet, suddenly very interested in his game.
>> 
>> Kuroo: Kenma. Don’t tell me.
>> 
>> Kenma: Then I won’t.
> 
> and then he made a smoothie bowl, idk here's my [twitter.](https://twitter.com/bardicyearning) i would also love to hear your comments n thoughts n keysmashes >:)


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